the mighty fall
by cinderblock garden
Summary: "never forget where you came from, and never forget your purpose. we will revive our master E.N.D." — the story of the demon and the dragon slayer. end!natsu. manga spoilers. two-shot.


**hello friends it's jess aka burgleturts from tumblr here with a trash fic to meet all your natsu dragneel needs**

**basically this is a result of the manga destroying my soul. it goes with my headcanon that even though zeref intended for natsu to be a nasty young savage he ended up being the better, more human side of zeref manifest. and quick note that if the transitions don't make sense to you it's because all time skips occur in relation to the event right before them, not the first event! hope you enjoy this watery, unedited generic end!natsu fic and thanks for reading xo**

* * *

It's cold. The coldest it's been all summer. It shouldn't even _be _this chilly, actually. Not around these parts of Fiore.

There's a clearing in the forest of tall pine trees. Zeref stands in the center of it, book of demons splayed open on the grass in front of him. The stormy sky rumbles, rain falling in torrents like tiny shards of glass. The howling wind picks up with every movement of his hands, and the earth beneath him quakes with every movement of his lips. "You are mine," he whispers, as the shadows of demons drift about, materializing. The monsters that rise from the book get larger and larger with every incantation. Zeref closes his eyes, dark hair whipping around his face.

"You are etherious, but you will have standard forms. I will send you out unto the ends of the earth, where you will become stronger. One day, you will be strong enough to defeat me, the greatest mage who ever lived. This is your purpose, your destiny." The depth and reality of his promises speak volumes to his children.

"But master," they rasp back at him in unison, wisps of smoke emitting from their skin. "You are the strongest. None can defeat you, not even of your own creation."

Though they are only his own thoughts communicated back to him, Zeref considers this. "I will make one," he decides, "who will grow to be stronger than you all combined. I will keep him sealed away in this book with the rest of you, but I will not release him until every last one of you has been defeated and is unable to kill me."

Zeref stops for a moment to take deep, shuddering breaths. He concentrates on focusing all his power into this final demon. The worst of them all. The only one able to take him down, finally ridding the world of the root of all evil magic.

The other demons shift from their etherious forms into their normal forms, then, and are sucked back into Zeref's book as if it were a vacuum. They disappear in clouds of black fog, whispering, "Hail, master," and "Long live Zeref."

The storm becomes more violent, and the wind and pelting rain push Zeref to the ground. He grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut, hands clamped over his ears. _Focus_, he thinks. Focus.

And then his body relaxes, and he blacks out. The storm slowly but surely dissipates, the dark gray clouds backing away as the hurricane winds are reduced to a gentle summer breeze. The sun becomes visible in the bright blue sky, and when Zeref opens his eyes, it's peaceful.

He almost smiles, then, because things will never be peaceful for him. He is the epitome of all evil. There is no hope for someone like him. He finds his book of demons clutched safely to his chest, and lets his eyes flutter shut once again, wanting nothing more than to doze off to the blissful sound of birds chirping in the trees.

"Papa!"

Zeref's eyes shoot open. He forces himself to sit up and stares, bewildered, paralyzed by what he sees in front of him.

A little boy with bright salmon hair who can't be older than three is sitting, naked, on the grass, waving a fallen twig around and giggling — no, gurgling. Zeref doesn't move.

"Who are you?" Zeref demands. He wonders briefly if the boy was just lost, separated from his mother during the storm.

The little thing before him grins, baring tiny teeth with sharp, fang-like canines. He shrugs. "You didn't name me yet, Papa."

Zeref narrows his eyes. Way too intelligent for a toddler. But then, Zeref takes a good look at him before drawing conclusions.

He glances over the chubby little body — natural baby fat with unnatural pink hair, all the parts of the human anatomy. But the human-like features end there. Thick, golden-brown horns curl out from the sides of his head, sticking out through tufts of wild hair. The boy's skin is littered with tiny marks; upon closer inspection Zeref decides they are scales. His fingernails are black and curve downward to form sharp ends — baby claws. And then Zeref draws his conclusion:

This thing, whatever it is, is a demon in its etherious form. It will grow and mature and gain power until its strength is beyond that of Zeref himself. This incompetent little child is supposed to kill him someday. Zeref watches as the boy takes a bite out of his stick, chewing thoughtfully, and he drops his head into his hands. This can't be happening. This demon's etherious form is less threatening than most of his siblings' normal forms.

"Come here," Zeref says into his hands then, with resignation.

He hears the boy lumbering over before he plops rather unceremoniously onto the ground in front of the dark mage. Zeref starts when he feels tiny hands pry his own away from his face. The boy's grip is sure and his hands are so, so warm.

"Hello, Papa." He peers up at Zeref, curiously but not at all timidly. His eyes are hazel. _You should fear me_, Zeref thinks. _I am the strongest, darkest mage on earth. Fear me._

"Don't call me Papa," Zeref manages to grind out.

The boy looks surprised for a moment before his face falls. His sadness is obvious as he backs away before ducking his head and bowing low to the ground, just as his brothers and sisters had done just before being sucked into the book and sealed away. But Zeref only has a few seconds to feel smug before he hears a quiet, humble:

"I'm sorry, Papa."

His eye twitches.

"Forget that," he says with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Call me what you want. But what do I call you?"

The boy's head snaps up then and his face splits into another smile, eyes wide with excitement. Zeref freezes, his own eyes wide with shock, when the little pink-haired beast climbs onto his lap without hesitation.

"Please name me, Papa," the boy says. He takes a deep breath, and then, "Please please please please please —"

"Enough!" Zeref roars, finally fed up with this arrogant little monster. But the boy has the audacity to laugh — laugh at him. Zeref's face twists into a scowl.

"You're funny, Papa." And the boy's smile is so bright and his tiny body is so unbelievably warm Zeref feels his own self warming up and he can't help but relax.

He looks up at the sky then, at the vast, clear blue sky and the all the green trees and grass around them, and then he looks back down at the demon in his lap who's giving off so much body heat Zeref is convinced he may be running a fever. Summer. He thinks of summer. The wizard touches the boy's horns, watching him go still, waiting.

"Natsu," Zeref says after a moment. "You are Natsu, and you are mine."

* * *

two years later

* * *

Natsu is growing fast and learning even faster, and Zeref's confidence in the fact that creating the little humanoid hadn't been a mistake increases with each magic lesson. He learns Natsu is a fire demon when he gets a fire going in a cave on the mountainside one night and the boy casually begins eating the flames in fistfuls, looking up at Zeref with an earnest "_Itadakimasu."_

He watches, now, as Natsu burns six and a half evergreens to the ground in one blow, and nods his approval as the boy skips over to him. Natsu is thinner and a bit taller than when he had been born; he looks about four now. He is clad in a black cloak, identical to his father's. "Did I do good, Papa?" he asks, grabbing at the bottom Zeref's cloak impatiently.

Zeref places his hand atop Natsu's head between his growing horns. "Yes, you did well."

"Let's go fishing!" Natsu suggests, pointing at the noisy creek that flows beside them.

Zeref shakes his head. "We have more important things to do, Natsu."

The boy huffs, lips curling into a pout. "Like what, Papa?"

Zeref looks up from where they stand on the hill, looks far ahead and sees smoke billowing up from the village a few miles away. If he concentrates, he can hear distinct growling, roaring.

"Come," he says. "The dragons are at war."

Zeref holds out his hand. Natsu takes it, and together they dissolve into shadows.

* * *

three days later

* * *

Natsu sees many things that he understands surprisingly well for his age. Perhaps he owes that to being a demon. He holds Zeref's hand tightly as they navigate the village — or what's left of it. Houses have been demolished, the river has run dry, the fountain in the town square is smoking. Natsu hears screams, human screams. People watch as those around them are caught under debris or burnt to ashes on the spot. He watches a woman and her child, running, trying to escape, and doesn't blink as they are blasted to bits by a beam of flames that shoots down from above.

Natsu looks up then, and sees them. The dragons. They circle the village from the sky menacingly, huffing and growling, roaring as they strike. He watches, completely entranced, as a bulky green dragon breathes out a blinding ray of light that rockets toward the same dragon that had killed the woman and child from before. The fire dragon dodges the blow, opting to swoop down in a path towards the ground where Natsu and Zeref are standing. Natsu grips his father's hand a little tighter, fascinated as the dragon dips dangerously close to them. Natsu feels the heat radiating from his red scales, the warm sound of his smoking breath, the molten lava color of his eyes. Natsu's own hazel eyes are blown wide as he lets go of Zeref's hand, ignoring the yell of protest the action earns him. He bolts toward the dragon before he misses his chance.

The intense heat doesn't burn Natsu — it doesn't bother him at all, really. In fact, he likes it; he feels excited, like his insides are on fire, in a good way. "Dragon!" he calls bravely, in his tiny voice, hoping the roaring from above them doesn't drown out the sound. "Dragon! I can do fire too! I can do fire magic too, watch!"

The fire dragon does look at him then, as he holds out his hands and shoots fire in the direction of the town square. The dried fountain crumbles to a pile of ash. Natsu looks back at the monster before him. "Did you see it, Dragon?" he asks, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "I'm Natsu!" he yells. "Zeref's strongest demon!"

The dragon huffs and steam spurts from his nostrils. Natsu laughs with delight, clapping his hands. The dragon is still watching him, sizing him up. Natsu jumps when the dragon finally speaks, bellowing roughly:

"Child, I could tear you to shreds with only my teeth, fire demon or otherwise. Be warned, and do not test me."

Natsu swallows and takes a precautionary step back, twisting his fingers into his cloak nervously. "I bet I could beat you in a fight!" he challenges, despite his thoughts, hoping he doesn't sound as nervous as he is. He steps forward again. Where this courage has come from, he has no idea, but he thinks it's real.

The fire dragon turns his head up to check how things are going in the sky. The dragons are still fighting, spitting and clawing and blowing steam at each other. "Very well," he agrees. "Begin."

Natsu's reflexes are fast and he doesn't need to be told something twice, especially not after his training with Zeref. He channels as much power as he can into his hands and then lets go, watching as a wall of fire is erected in front of him and his flames bombard the dragon, stretching far enough to hit the vast expanse of its body. He feels proud of himself, and vaguely wonders what his father would think.

Natsu is disappointed, though. The flames die down to reveal the dragon, looking exactly as he had before, untouched by the fire. Absolutely no damage done at all. _It's his turn_, Natsu realizes with dread crawling up his throat, and braces himself. He doesn't close his eyes, though. He doesn't want to miss anything.

"Karyuu no Houkou!" Igneel roars, exhaling the most colossal, most overheated flames Natsu's ever seen. Yet somehow, on impulse, he opens his little mouth to receive them. When he has sucked in the last tickle of flame, he rubs his bloated tummy and burps, tasting smoke in his mouth. "That was good!" he congratulates the dragon between giggles. "Thank you, Dragon!"

The beast bows his head after a moment, directly in front of Natsu, speaking deliberately slowly so he understands. "Do you see now, boy? One cannot fight fire with fire. You and I were meant to work together. See them?" He tilts his head up to the sky, where the dragons are still engaged in battle. Natsu nods to show he's listening, although he's a bit distracted by the formidable fangs hanging in the dragon's mouth that he catches a glimpse of with every word it speaks.

"The dragons are fighting one another because some of them wish to kill all the humans on this earth. But the rest of them, including myself, would like to spare the humans and teach them magic. I want you, Natsu. You can help me fight, and together we will become stronger." Natsu thinks this sounds like a pretty sweet deal — training with a real dragon _and _getting stronger, just like his father wants him to.

"The humans that we dragons teach our magic to — we call them dragon slayers."

"Dragon slayers," Natsu repeats to himself, testing the feel of the term on his tongue. He likes it, a lot, and he thinks he would like very much to learn magic from this dragon. But he hangs his head sadly then, remembering his purpose. "I can't," he sighs sorrowfully, clenching his fists at his sides as a lump forms in his throat. "I'm not human. I'm just a demon."

"Nonsense," the dragon grunts. He extends his wing, indicating for Natsu to climb on. "If there is anything I know of Zeref's demons, it's that each one can be sealed away. Plus, that only means you will be the most powerful dragon slayer to ever live. Come with me, Natsu. My name is —"

Natsu starts and steps back in surprise as the dragon is enveloped by shadows, blocked from his sight. Natsu squints, worried his dragon has changed its mind, when he turns around to face his father, who looks absolutely livid, the scariest Natsu's ever seen him. Zeref is rather passive aggressive and is usually calm and collected, even when he gets frustrated with Natsu during training. Natsu observes his father clutching his book with white knuckles, gazing intently as the dragon now emerges from the black cloud that had been cast on it.

Zeref extends his arm towards the dragon and Natsu watches, perplexed, as his father sends a wave of pure force clothed by shadows straight at his new friend. "Papa!" he tries, but his voice is lost in the wind that beats wildly around them combined with the unrelenting sounds of combating dragons. The fire dragon roars as he is hit by Zeref's magic.

"Papa, stop!" Natsu tries again.

"Nice try, Igneel." Zeref growls. He looks much more like the evil mage he is, Natsu realizes distantly. Intimidating and merciless.

"If I wished any harm on the boy, I would not have taken him. You know that," the dragon, Igneel, replies. Natsu gets the feeling this isn't the first time his new friend has spoken to his father.

Zeref turns his head and spits on the ground. Natsu wonders why he's so angry. His face is still fixed in a snarl. "Not my son, you brute. The last thing we need is another Acnologia running rampant in this god-forsaken land."

_Acnologia. _Natsu is quite sure he has never heard the name before, yet it sounds incredibly important. Igneel does not make an effort to reply to this. He and Natsu make eye contact for a brief second; Natsu feels like he is melting, and then Igneel backs off, leaving enormous footprints in the dirt as he takes three thundering steps before taking off, back to engage in arial warfare with his fellow dragons.

Natsu doesn't take his eyes off of Igneel, and doesn't protest as he feels Zeref scoop him up by his underarms. He holds tight to his father's neck, unable to tear his gaze away from the scorched ruins of the village, as Zeref strides conclusively in the opposite direction.

* * *

three hundred ninety-seven years later

* * *

"Papa, how come you never let me meet my brothers and sisters?"

"You don't want to meet them. They are not nearly as forgiving as I."

"Forgivin'? What's that?"

Zeref sighs. "They would kill you on sight, Natsu, before you even recognized them. There's a reason I keep them in the book. You were supposed to stay in there too, but..."

"But what?"

Zeref doesn't answer this. He is afraid of the answer.

"Fine," he relents. "But don't ever ask to see their etherious forms. _Ever. _Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Natsu claps his tiny hands. He hasn't physically grown at all in centuries, the cause of Zeref's worst frustration. He can't figure out for the life of him what kind of magic is keeping Natsu's etherious little body from developing, and whether it is Zeref's magic or Natsu's own causing the problem. On the other hand, it's not like Zeref has changed at all in the last four hundred years.

Natsu then suddenly makes a suggestion. "Let's make a guild!"

This grabs Zeref's attention more than successfully. "A _what?_"

Natsu is bouncing up and down with excitement. "You know, like the humans do! We can all be guild members and do magic together and stuff! And Papa, you can be the mattress!"

"You mean the master?"

"That's what I said!"

Zeref wants to dismiss the matter altogether, but Natsu has that look in his eyes that he gets when he wants something. Innocent, earnest hopefulness. Hope is something Zeref is not used to, but perhaps Natsu has been affecting him more than he thought. He is a demon, after all. Zeref feels his resolve crumbling.

He gives up. "Fine, I suppose we could — _Natsu!_"

The boy has already grabbed Zeref's book and thrown it on the ground, splayed open. Zeref only gets a glance at the page — Kyouka — before the chaos begins, just as it had two and a half years ago. Zeref only has enough time to grab Natsu and shield him before Kyouka erupts violently from the book in a cloud of black magic. The wind pushes Zeref back as she is followed by Jackal, who emerges in a veil of light so blinding that Zeref has to throw an arm over his eyes and tuck Natsu under his cloak.

Barely able to keep his eyes open against the force of the wind, Zeref watches and waits for it to end. His children rip free from the confines of the book in whirlwinds of dust, fog, and pure magic. Tempesta. Franmalth. Torafusa. Ezel. Sayla. Keith. Mard Geer. Yakdoriga. Lamy.

He stays still, expecting more, but as the wind dies down and the shadowy fog clears, he realizes two things: One, the demons have stopped coming and the book is shut. Two, there is a distinct absence of warmth under his cloak. Zeref tentatively raises his eyes and lets his gaze fall upon the creatures he has made.

His demons stare back at him, excited and refreshed after being unsealed. They each kneel to the ground with an unceremonious thud and greet him, in unison, "Master Zeref."

_Mattress, _Zeref thinks in the back of his mind, then frowns at himself. "Natsu," he mutters. Then louder, more urgently, "Natsu!"

He knows what he's doing is pointless, but his heart sinks and his stomach lurches at what he sees lying on the ground before him. Not one book, but two. The first, the one the demons had just risen out of, reads _Zeref's Book of Demons. _The other book is smaller, with less pages. Its cover is blank.

In a daze, Zeref drags himself over and picks it up, running his fingers along its smooth cover. His demons watch in silence, not even Jackal daring to speak.

"Natsu," he whispers. He laughs bitterly, without humor. "I knew I'd have to seal you up someday." _I just didn't think it would be subconsciously. I thought I would be prepared. _Zeref stares at the book for a minute, the heavy silence bearing down on him. He wonders what he should title the book. Just _Natsu _wouldn't do it justice.

Suddenly, he hears a gasp from behind him, muffled by shushing. But Sayla can't stop herself. "Excuse me, Master..."

Zeref turns around and nearly chokes. The demons are all staring, in a mixture of fascination and horror, at a naked little boy sitting on the grass. He has shocking pink hair and his chubby hands are shaking. But he has no horns, no scales, no claws. And Zeref realizes that Natsu's etherious form has been sealed away, and he has been reduced to a human boy. His stomach twists into a knot, and he feels like the ground has been yanked from under his feet without warning. He bites his tongue hard, hoping the pain will distract him from the nausea.

"Who are you?" Natsu braves, ignoring his siblings and staring straight at Zeref.

He never gets his answer. Zeref scoops up the books and stands swiftly, mustering up as much coldness as he can into one wilting glare. Natsu's eyes widen and he shrinks back. Zeref grits his teeth, steels himself. He's supposed to do this. He is evil.

"What do we do with it?" Jackal asks, scratching behind his ear and appearing mildly uncomfortable at the prospect of a child.

Zeref knows what he has to do. He just doesn't want to do it.

"Torafusa," he says, not taking his eyes off of Natsu. "Go find the dragons. Tell them I have a present for Igneel."

* * *

ten months later

* * *

"Daddy, look at this fish I caught!"

"Not now Natsu, Daddy's talking about something very important."

"Hi Uncle Skiadrum and Uncle Weisslogia! Look at this fish I caught!"

"Natsu Dragneel, _what did I just say_ —"

"Okay bye!" Natsu scampers off, and Igneel turns back to the shadow and white dragons.

"Do not," he huffs, "under any circumstances, alter their memories. Grandeeney and I have thought up a better plan."

"Sure you have, old man," Weisslogia mutters dubiously.

"Well whatever it is," says Skiadrum, "we better put it into action soon. Look at you, Igneel, half-dead. It's pathetic."

"That's what happens when you have your soul torn out." This shuts them both up.

"And speaking of Acnologia," Igneel continues, "he's the reason why we've decided to do this." He tells them the plan.

"I feel as though that would never work," Skiadrum admits after the information has sunken in, "but I respect Grandeeney too much to disagree with her."

"Anything to make my Sting stronger, I'll do," Weisslogia grunts.

"Good. Tell the others, enough times that they fully understand. You know how stubborn Metallicana gets." Igneel nods his head solemnly, and the other two dragons depart wordlessly.

Once they've disappeared into the sky, Igneel lets out a long sigh. "I know you're there, Natsu. You can come out now."

The dragon watches fondly as his little boy shuffles out from behind a tree, smiling sheepishly. "Let's see that fish, ne?"

Natsu blinks. "What fish?"

"Nevermind."

* * *

six weeks later

* * *

"My experiment was successful," Keith announces proudly. "Absolute Zero, the Ninth Demon Gate."

The other eight come forward and kneel in line before their new guild member. The other demons stand back, each looking on with curious eyes. A human turned demon — is this how far Keith would go?

After he has been initiated, Lamy pipes up. "Where'd he come from?"

"His name was Silver Fullbuster. His town was destroyed by Deliora," Mard Geer explains grimly. "He was the most powerful mage there. Master Zeref wanted him."

"But Deliora's back in the book now, right? What's his magic?" Jackal inquires with more interest than usual.

"Well, it was ice..."

"It still is. Ice devil slayer magic," Zeref answers, startling the others.

"I look forward to working with you all," Silver says stiffly, monotonously. He really does look like a walking corpse.

"Kyouka, show him around. Get him acquainted with how we do things here," Zeref orders. "I need some air. And no, Jackal, Deliora is not back in the book. She was defeated by another meddling ice mage. But she'll be back."

"Yes, Master Zeref."

Twenty minutes after Zeref leaves the guild to take a walk, he stumbles upon a memory he'd been suppressing for far too long. He stares down at the ground, studies each letter carved into the dirt with care. He tries to imagine the way the writer had held their stick, guided by a much larger hand holding theirs, each careful drag through the dirt, the triumphant noise made when the task had been completed. There, scrawled in the slow but messy handwriting of a child:

_NATSU DRAGNEEL X777_

Zeref tries to ignore the wave of all-too-familiar emotion he feels when he realizes Natsu has been here recently and can't be far off. But he pushes it down as fast as it came. So what if Igneel was trying to teach _his _son to write? So what if a dragon was calling _his _son its own?

Dragneel. Natsu Dragneel. Even Zeref gave credit where credit was due — the name is surprisingly fitting. And as a demon: Etherious Natsu Dragneel.

This idea hits Zeref much harder than the sight of his son's name scratched into the forest floor. _Etherious Natsu Dragneel. E.N.D. _He whips out the book he'd ignored for so long, takes a deep breath, and names it. He watches the letters slowly forming on the cover. _The Book of E.N.D. _

Because Natsu was his beginning, and Natsu would be his end.

Zeref takes one last long look at the writing before hurrying back to his guild. He calls everyone to attention and lets the words tumble out of his mouth. "You all have a new master now. His name is E.N.D. Until his arrival, Mard Geer, as second-in-command, I give you his authority. I must go, but I wish you all the best of luck. Never forget where you came from, and never forget your purpose. We will revive our master E.N.D." Zeref holds the book up high.

"Wait, Master Zeref, where —" Franmalth starts, but Zeref is out the door before anyone can object. He doesn't know where he's going, but he knows he won't be coming back. Not until he sees Natsu again.

* * *

end of part one


End file.
